1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pivotal apparatus for a flat display panel, more particularly to a pivotal apparatus which allows a flat display panel to rotate a predetermined angle in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computers continue to rapidly develop, the requirements of computer monitors continue to increase. Presently, desktop computers generally use a monitor which is conventionally constructed from a cathode ray tube. However, due to the development of the flat display panel, there is a growing tendency toward using a flat display panel as the output device of a desktop computer as the flat display panel has many advantages.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional pivotal apparatus for a flat display panel. The flat display panel includes a front housing 10 and a rear housing 11 connected to the front housing 10. An elongated groove 110 is formed in a central portion of an outer surface of the rear housing 11. The groove 110 is defined by two opposed shorter side walls and two opposed longer side walls interconnecting the shorter side walls. A receiving hole 1100 is formed in each of the shorter side walls. The conventional pivotal apparatus includes a support arm 12 which has one end connectable to, for example, the edge of a table top 13. The support arm 12 has another end which is provided with a transversely extending pivotal head 120. An axially extending mounting pole 1200 projects outwardly from each end of the pivotal head 120. By way of a press-fit, the pivotal head 120 is inserted into the groove 110 of the rear housing 11, while the mounting poles 1200 are inserted into their respective receiving hole 1100. Therefore, the elevation angle of the flat display panel can be adjusted by rotating the flat display panel up and down relative to the table top 13.
However, in certain applications software for documentation, such as Windows 95 (particularly, the Chinese edition), the layout of a printed page on a computer display can be changed from characters reading from left to right and up to down, to characters reading from up to down and right to left. In some display modes, the characters displayed on the flat display panel are rotated 90 degrees such that it is difficult for the user to read the characters. However, heretofore, an apparatus for rotating a flat display panel 90 degrees in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to accommodate different layouts of a printed page displayed on a flat display panel has been unavailable.